‘The Exorcist’ Canceled By Fox After 2 Seasons

Fox’s well received but low rated horror drama series The Exorcist has been axed after two seasons.

The series, which starred Geena Davis in its first season, started off with a lot of promise. “This show is going to turn heads,” Fox chairman Gary Newman said of The Exorcist to a lot of chuckles (and a few groans) in one of the more memorable lines from the network’s 2016 upfront presentation.

The Exorcist was met with some of the best reviews for a new series that fall, and the acclaim continued in Season 2. But, scheduled on Friday nights, the series adaptation of the classic 1973 movie never got traction. In its most recent second season, it averaged a paltry 0.6 adults 18-49 Live+7 rating.

Putting the horror series on Friday nights was “tough for that show,” Newman told Deadline in March. “We had hoped that we would be able to tap into a moviegoing crowd who didn’t want to go out to the movies… and we did get some viewership. I thought the show was incredibly well produced, the stories were great.”

The Exorcist wrapped its second season on December 15 with the bloody and unexpected death of a major character. The finale posted a 0.4 Live+same day 18-49 rating, down 33% from its Season 1 ender of December 16, 2016.

FOX

Season 2 of The Exorcist picked up with Father Tomas Ortega (Alfonso Herrera) and a newly collarless Marcus Keane (Ben Daniels) out of Chicago and on the road, searching out evil. Across the Atlantic, Father Bennett (Kurt Egyiawan) attempts to weed out those within the Vatican who have turned against God. Ultimately, Tomas and Marcus are led to Andrew Kim (John Cho), a former child psychologist who runs a group home for five at-risk foster children on a secluded private island off the coast of Seattle. When one of the children under Andrew’s care is targeted by a powerful force, the two priests head west, setting themselves on a collision course with hell.

Created by Jeremy Slater, The Exorcist hailed from Morgan Creek Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Slater, Sean Crouch, Rupert Wyatt, Roy Lee, James Robinson, David Robinson and Barbara Wall served as executive producers.